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American Documentary, Untitled Filmmaker Org (UFO), and Bird Street Productions have named the projects selected for the second edition of Shorts In-Session, a recurring work-in-progress program that helps short-form documentary makers refine their films with guidance from peers and industry experts. The new cohort will present at the Camden International Film Festival (Ciff).

Conceived as an open, community-driven forum, Shorts In-Session invites filmmakers with shorts in production or post-production to screen excerpts and discuss editorial choices in front of an expert panel and a festival audience. This year’s working committee includes UFO co-directors Sean Weiner, Arno Mokros and Martha Gregory; representatives from Bird Street Productions; and Opal H. Bennett,...

The topic of conversation is deceptively simple: “Favorite home-cooked meal, boys?”

“I heard your mom makes a mean pizza.” That’s Peyton, talking to Jackson. They’re both 13.

“Yeah, she does make a mean pizza,” Jackson concedes.

“And she makes a good ramen,” Ryan, who’s 14, chimes in. He’s the one who proposed this topic. When quizzed about what makes Jackson’s mom’s ramen so good, he gets a little bashful. “It’s the–It’s, she cuts it up so it’s like, it’s–”

His fellows are quick to pounce. “Aww,” Jackson coos, egged on by Peyton and the fourth member of the group, 14-year-old Emmett.

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

The gap between MrBeast and his closest competition continues to widen. Jimmy Donaldson‘s primary YouTube channel added two million new subscribers during the second full week of August. That brought his platform-leading total up to 423 million, giving him a 120 million subscriber cushion over his closest competition.

Only four channels added at least one million new subscribers this week,...

Exclusive: Following the conclusion of its 2025 flagship festival in Montréal, Just For Laughs has announced the winners of its inaugural Shorts & Pilots Program, recognizing emerging comedic talent and original storytelling across short and pilot formats.

The Grand Jury Prize for Shorts was awarded to Better People, directed by Rory Kramer and written by Jessica Uhler, with the Audience Award going to This Blows, written by Molly Clark and directed by Talia Smith.

In the Pilots category, the Grand Jury Prize went to Bulldozer, written by and starring Joanna Leeds, and directed by Andrew Leeds. The Audience Award was given to The Take, written by Joanna Bradley and Glenn Boozan.

In a statement to Deadline, Jfl President & CEO Sylvain Parent‑Bédard said, “We’re excited to spotlight these rising voices and play a part in launching what we are sure to be amazing careers. This is only the beginning.”

Commented Spencer Griffin,...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

Double Date is continuing to roll at the top of our Global Top 50 ranking. With more than 1.6 million weekly YouTube views, the Australian channel featuring a pair of popular couples is setting the pace for the rest of the world.

The top ten is a diverse group overall, with seven different nationalities represented among that elite cohort. YouTube’s most-watched channels have taken different paths to the top of the rankings, but there are some strategies that many of our chart-toppers have in common.

The popularity of aggregator channels show why inspirational content is so big

There’s a...

Exclusive: The 29th LA Shorts International Film Festival is about to get underway in downtown Los Angeles, an Oscar- and BAFTA-qualifying event that will showcase 470 films between July 16-28.

The festival opens at Regal LA Live with a selection of four shorts including Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado, directed by Natalia León, an animated short that won the jury award at the Sundance Film Festival.

“In Olivia’s Mexican hometown, femicide and gender-based violence are increasing at an alarming rate,” notes a description of León’s film in the program guide for Hot Docs, where the film also played. “Upon her return after a long absence, she quickly notices the city walls are covered with posters of missing women. The mistreatment of women is pervasive, and the once-vibrant city is gradually losing its vitality.”

‘The Letter’ LA Shorts International Film Festival

Also screening tonight is The Letter,...

It would be nice to live in a world in which creators only upload original content, but since we don’t live in that fantasy land, YouTube is making some changes. The video platform is tightening its enforcement of its monetization guidelines to crack down on channels that specialize in “mass-produced or repetitive” content.

YouTube announced the new enforcement parameters via a bulletin on a page dedicated to tracking platform-wide policy updates. Per the bulletin, which was posted at the start of July, creators are required to publish “original” and “authentic” videos if they wish to reap revenue from the YouTube Partner Program.

More details can be found on the page that lists YouTube’s channel monetization policies. Creators who reupload content from other sources will need to “change it significantly” to comply with YouTube’s terms. Videos must also possess clear value for viewers to be eligible for monetization.

Former 20th Century Fox creative executive Mike Southerly will make his feature film writing and directorial debut with “Where We Meet.”

The indie romantic comedy, from Fishbowl, will star Madison Shamoun and Jake Short.

The official logline of “Where We Meet” reads, “When a Black conservative (Shamoun) and a white liberal (Short) meet by chance on an LA hiking trail, their ideological differences challenge everything they knew about themselves and turns an ordinary day into a winding, emotional journey. One that challenges their beliefs, sparks an unexpected connection and changes them both in ways they never imagined.”

Southerly has more than 30 years of experience in motion picture advertising. As executive vice president of creative advertising at 20th Century Fox, he spearheaded global campaigns for “The Simpsons Movie” and the “X-Men” franchise. He also held a lead position at Trailer Park before joining forces with Jim Hale at Fishbowl in 2023.

Shamoun...

In a move that could change the video landscape, YouTube will integrate Google’s most advanced AI video generation tool, Veo 3, into YouTube Shorts later this summer.

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced the integration in a keynote at the Cannes Lions festival Wednesday, where he was joined by YouTube creators Amelia Dimoldenberg, Alex Cooper, and Brandon Baum.

“The possibilities with AI are limitless,” Mohan said. “A lot can change in a generation. Entertainment itself has changed more in the last two decades than any other time in history. Creators led this revolution.

“My bet for the next 20 years? Creators will flip formats, blend genres, and push deeper into the mainstream — as brand ambassadors, big business ventures and visionary storytellers,” he continued. “Communities will continue to surprise us with the power of their collective fandom. And cutting-edge AI technology will push the limits of human creativity. My biggest bet is that...

Welcome to our rundown of the most-watched branded YouTube videos of the week.

We’re publishing this snippet of a larger Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Report in order to analyze sponsorship trends in the creator economy. Any video launched in tandem with an official brand partner is eligible for the ranking.

And – as the name up above would imply – all the data comes from Gospel Stats. If you’re interested in learning more about Gospel – and which brands are sponsoring what creators on YouTube – click here.

This week kicks off with a MrBeast double header–and instead of just putting people in mortal danger with Jack Link’s, he’s also putting them in emotional danger thanks to Neymar‘s soccer skills. He’s followed up by a peaceful study break from Gohar Khan, a hard look at an ever-more-popular drug from Kurzgesagt, and finally some good old-fashioned frights from Dead by Daylight streamer SpookyLoopz.

Kat Dennings is known for her timeless Hollywood beauty. And while this young American actress gained her footing with several quirky indie roles, she also boasts a broad range that can be seen in her extensive filmography.

Ira David Wood IV and his girlfriend Kat Dennings attend the premiere of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, with Kat stunning in a strapless black tiered mini dress and matching clutch at Arclight Cinemas on August 11, 2005, in Hollywood (Credit: Dimitri Halkidis / WENN)

Her supporting role in The 40-Year-Old Virgin kicked her career into the next stratosphere.

Why Kat Dennings Uses a Stage Name Instead of Her Real One

The American actress, who uses a stage name and is of Russian Jewish heritage, was born Katherine Victoria Litwack in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the youngest of five children.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kat Dennings (@katdenningsss)

“I didn’t want to use my family name because I thought,...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

Getting one billion views in a week is so last year. Getting two billion views in a week is the new hotness.

Thanks to YouTube’s lenient policy regarding view counts on YouTube Shorts, channels that specialize in vertical videos have been able to achieve numbers that would have previously been impossible. Before the shift occurred, we occasionally saw one or two channels with at least one billion weekly views. This week, two channels cleared two billion views: Chart leader Kimpro and runner-up Double Date.

How can brands capitalize on the Shorts view-counting update?

Once upon a time, brands...

Official awards of the 75th Berlinale International Film Festival have been announced and “Dreams” directed by Dag Johan Haugerud won the Golden Bear Award.

According to the report of Mansour Jahani, an independent and international cinema journalist, The closing ceremony of the Berlinale International Film Festival was held at 18:00 on February 22, 2025, at the Berlinale Palast in the city of Berlin, Germany, and the winners of various competition, including; the Main Competition, Perspectives (Gwff Best First Feature Award), the Berlinale Documentary Award as well as the Berlinale Shorts prizes were introduced and the prestigious Golden Bear award for the best film and other awards of this film event were awarded to the winners.

The Prizes of the International Jury

The members of the 2025 International Jury, The members of the jury of the Main Competition of this prestigious and first-class world cinema event are: The US-American director, screenwriter and producer Todd Haynes,...

The Walt Disney Company has revealed the Disney Plus March 2025 release schedule, which includes new Originals, movies, and TV series. The Disney+ streaming service features movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and more, alongside exclusive Disney+ Originals.

The March schedule includes the premieres of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip, Daredevil: Born Again, David Blaine Do Not Attempt, and new episodes of Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Season 2 and Win or Lose. Keep reading to view the full schedule.

Daredevil: Born Again Disney Plus March 2025 Schedule

Available March 3

Malawi Wildlife Rescue

Available March 4

New to Disney+

Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again – Two-Episode Premiere at 6 p.m. Pt

In Marvel Television’s “Daredevil: Born Again,” Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer with heightened abilities is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk pursues his...

Universal Language, the original and quietly funny Oscar-shortlisted Cannes and TIFF premiering feature by Canadian filmmaker Matthew Rankin debuts on one screen each in New York and LA. Chinese animated juggernaut Ne Zha 2 opens Stateside and Oscar Nominated Shorts are back for a 20th season. Sony Picture Classics’ Becoming Led Zeppelin expands to 1,039 locations from 369 Imax screens and IFC Films jumps Armand to 230 theaters from two. Oscar contenders continue to populate screens.

Oscilloscope’s Universal Language quite likes this window with the Academy Awards a few weeks away. In a crowded market, “this date is great. Once the ceremony comes and goes, there is a rotation of films out of theaters,” says theatrical distribution chief Andrew Carlin.

He calls Rankin a great actor and filmmaker with a particular sense of style and Universal Language a film with “a strangeness to it that defies classification” — a plus for Oscilloscope.

Rankin returned the compliment.

YouTube ad revenue provided a bright spot in an otherwise mixed quarter for Google parent Alphabet.

In the period ended December 31, the tech giant reported revenue of $96.5 billion and earnings per share of $2.15. While those key metrics marked an improvement over the prior-year quarter and were largely in line with Wall Street forecasts, investors reacted badly to lower-than-anticipated cloud revenue and an “accelerated” plan to maintain hefty AI spending.

Cloud revenue of $12 billion grew more slowly than it has in recent quarters, and the 12% growth of total revenue was also the slowest rate since 2023, adding to investor angst.

Shares plunged 6% in after-hours trading as the earnings report was digested by traders, though they have managed 8% growth in 2025 to date despite some loud bearish voices on the Street.

YouTube ad revenue outpaced analysts’ expectations, climbing 14% to $10.473 billion, a new record. The video giant is on a dominant run, registering 11% market share...

Exclusive: If you recognize the name pocket.watch, you likely associate it with YouTube, its anchor distribution partner since the kids programming outfit was founded in 2018.

Now, the company is expanding its slate of creator-based fare to premium streaming outlets like Hulu, Peacock and Amazon Kids+.

Pocket.watch, founded by Chris Williams, who runs it as CEO, has a stable of 53 creator brands reaching 1.2 billion subscribers with 855 billion lifetime views. Williams in a past chapter was an exec at Disney and also advised and helped run multiple startups acquired by the media giant, including Maker Studios.

The move to leverage popular creator brands like Ryan’s World, Love, Diana, Daniel Labelle, and MeganPlays in new streaming environments has paid dividends. Hulu, which last year completed an integration into Disney+, has nearly doubled its tally of pocket.watch titles since 2023. It just added six new titles to Hulu on February 1, among them Diana’s Popstar Princess Adventure!

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

The top four channels in this week’s Global Top 50 are making it harder to keep up with their pace. They all saw week-over-week viewership increases, with #1 finisher T-Series pushing its YouTube-leading total to more than one billion weekly views.

It’s not the first time that T-Series has reached that benchmark, and another member of the ten-digit club — MrBeast — is right behind the Indian record label in second place. Meanwhile, individual creators continue to find chart real estate next to dozens of kid-friendly hubs.

Ben Eagle kicks it into high gear

YouTube’s favorite martial arts instructor is back.

It’s not exactly clear what will happen to TikTok at 12 a.m. on Jan. 19. According to Reuters, TikTok leadership will comply with the rapidly approaching ban by “going dark.” According to the Biden administration, they’re not going to enforce the law, and the app will continue to be available. Either way, for the most nervous among TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users, the search to find a new home for their content is on. Lucky for them, almost every social media platform thinks they have an answer. But...

[Tubefilter Charts is a periodic rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. We use data directly from YouTube and in terms of subscribers, YouTube rounds that data to the first three significant figures. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for analysis and then this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

For the second month in a row, MrBeast collected more new subscribers than any other YouTube channel. Jimmy Donaldson’s primary YouTube hub is the most-subscribed channel on the platform, with 340 million subscribers tuned into MrBeast’s uploads.

Since MrBeast is adding new subscribers faster than anyone else. — he got seven million of them in December alone — he figures to hold YouTube’s subscriber title for the foreseeable future. But there’s plenty to be...

Snapchat is rolling out an expanded creator monetization program, with the new effort set to launch just days after TikTok may find itself banned in the U.S.

The expanded program will launch on Feb. 1, and expand monetization opportunities to Spotlight videos, creating a unified monetization program. Snapchat already monetizes stories videos, which are meant to be shared with friend and followers, with Spotlight more focused on entertaining snaps meant to be viewers by users across the platform.

Spotlight content is more similar in tone, tenor and structure to TikTok that stories, and has been viewed as the platform’s effort to take on the Bytedance-owned app’s dominance, alongside Meta’s Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

Snapchat says that total time spent viewing on Snapchat is up 25 percent year-over-year, and that Spotlight now reaches over 500 million monthly active users.

Creators that have at least 50,000 followers, posted at least 25 times...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

The #1 channel in the U.S. Top 50 enjoyed a strong week to increase its already-considerable advantage. The hub in question belongs to MrBeast, who boosted his traffic by 53% week-over-week, reaching a total of 861.2 million weekly views. Only one other channel in the U.S. Top 50 even got half as much traffic.

All of this growth is coming to the MrBeast channel before the upcoming release of the Amazon Prime video original series Beast Games. When Jimmy Donaldson’s big-budget show arrives, it will probably bring even more attention to his namesake YouTube channel.

YouTube Shorts foodies are separated into...

YouTube has carried on an annual tradition by revealing the search topics, creators, and musicians that received the most traffic on the platform during the 2024 calendar year. If you’ve been following major pop culture headlines over the past 12 months, the headliners of the report won’t surprise you, but a deeper dive into the data reveals the subtle ways YouTube is evolving with each passing year.

Not even a year full of controversy can stop MrBeast

Jimmy Donaldson spent 2024 addressing allegations stemming from his Amazon Prime Video series Beast Games and unrelated concerns about the working conditions at his North Carolina HQ. If you thought those negative headlines would put a dent in Donaldson’s popularity, well, no. For the fourth year in a row, MrBeast ranked as YouTube’s top creator.

YouTube’s current subscriber king has become so popular that he’s even bringing his supporting cast...

There are three levels of value to choose from including free premium channels, add-on packs, and gift cards.

As we head toward the college football and NFL postseasons, not to mention the heart of the holidays, Directv has a Cyber Monday offer that just might be too good for TV lovers to pass up. When new customers sign up for Directv via internet or satellite service, they will get a slew of different bonuses to make their season (and their bill) merry and bright. Altogether, you can get an extra $625 in value when you opt for Directv’s Choice or Ultimate packages and go with their Gold bonus offer.

How to get $625 in added value with Directv via internet Click here to get the deal. Select your package. Select your add-ons and how you want to connect to Directv’s service. Click on “Secure checkout.” Create an account with a username and password.

The Alternativa Film Awards celebrate films that excel artistically while addressing important social and cultural topics. The project aims to make a positive impact on the lives of people and local communities. The Alternativa Festival’s precept is that cinema can change the world and inspire individuals to make meaningful contributions to their communities.

An international jury of seven influential figures in global cinema and social impact has judged the selected films. Winners will receive monetary prizes to support an impact campaign or further development of their filmmaking skills. The total prize fund is $100,000, with $20,000 each awarded in the four full-length categories, and $10,000 each for the two winners in the Shorts Award category.

Here are the winners of each category:

Spotlight Award

This award recognizes a film highlighting a topic or story that would have otherwise remained below the public’s radar. It emphasises the importance of bringing overlooked social...

Although The Simpsons season 36, episode 7 brought back a villain from a standout season 35 episode, it is not a supporting character that viewers are likely to expect. The Simpsons season 37s renewal has not yet been announced, but things look good for the shows future. From Vulture to YouTube, critics across the Internet have started to argue that the long-running series has been in something of a creative renaissance since season 33. Seasons 34 and 35 enjoyed substantially better reviews and fan reception than seasons 30-33, which were largely derided as the shows new nadir online.

Related The Simpsons Season 36s Parody Of Margot Robbie's Barbie Repeats An Annoying Problem

The Simpsons season 36 parodied Margot Robbie's blockbuster Barbie, but the show's spoof of the huge hit ran into an all too familiar problem.

Since the downfall of The Simpsons began back as far as season 12, it is notable that so many viewers and...

Alan Chikin Chow‘s videos are getting a glow-up. The mega-popular YouTube creator, whose mix of short-form and long-form uploads have brought more than 67 million subscribers to his personal channel, is opening up shop at a 10,000-square-foot production facility located in Los Angeles.

According to Taylor Lorenz of User Mag, Chow’s production hub includes 10 sets, each equipped with top-of-the-line cameras and lighting equipment. The creator and his 20-person team plan to use their new space to shoot all of Chow’s content, which he releases across channels on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.

Chow was a little-known creator before the 2021 launch of YouTube Shorts, but his prowess with that vertical format vaulted him to the top of the YouTube charts. He often gets more than 500 million YouTube views per week and has made occasional trips to the #1 spot in our U.S. Top 50 rankings. Nearly four years after the launch of Shorts,...

In the past, we have covered multiple shorts of Malaysian Anwar Johari Ho, but the truth is, that “Fish Balls” is definitely his most daring. The film premiered in Sea Shorts and is also finding its way in Jogja-Netpac this year.

Fish Balls review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative

The film begins with a young man in shock, as he is about to cut a piece of his genitals that have been transformed into a snakehead fish. His agony is palpable, but soon his voyeuristic past takes over, with him watching a woman in secret, which results in his fish member ‘becoming alive’. A bit later a woman appears, and a notion about his becoming violent with her is suggested, before the movie takes a completely different turn, as the man becomes more and more a fish.

Anwar Johari directs a 13-minute short which combines a number of extreme aspects,...

In the era of generative AI, it’s easier than ever to churn out automated, low-quality videos that make a quick buck from social media traffic. Nicholas Carlson wants to do the opposite.

Carlson, a former editor at Business Insider, is launching a new company called Dynamo. The production firm’s mission is simple, but also difficult to pull off: Deliver high-quality video journalism that viewers will want to return to in the future.

The target audience for those videos will be viewers Carlson calls “dynamos.” As he told The New York Times, he wants to appeal to those who feel that the world can be explained through the lens of business.

To make that seemingly dry topic more appealing for the social media masses, Carlson is learning lessons from independent creators who drive billions of views with newsy, narrated videos on platforms like YouTube Shorts and TikTok. A few...

Roblox has become a behemoth in digital content creation over the past five years. There are more than 70 million videos about it uploaded to TikTok, and it’s consistently one of YouTube‘s most-watched titles, with creators like KreekCraft racking up tens of millions of views (and 10+ million subscribers) on content made within the game. It also, through its DevEx program for game developers, generated over $1.2 billion worth of economic value in the United States between 2017 and 2023.

And one of the game developers within that program is making something that could end up turning Roblox into a competitor for TikTok and YouTube.

Back in March, Neura Studios released Clip It–a TikTok and YouTube Shorts lookalike that only operates exclusively within the Roblox platform. It has most of the same functionalities: a swipe-to-the-next-video Ui, likes, comments, and a suite of editing tools that lets creators post clips from the game...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

If you take this week’s U.S. Top 50 at face value, you may not notice too many differences from the previous week. After all, there are no changes at #1 or in the top five in general. But beneath the surface, there are some interesting narratives we can pull out.

The Slavic-American triumvirate

Vlad and Niki, Like Nastya, and Kids Diana Show have a lot in common. All three are globetrotting family vlogs led by their titular figures and their respective siblings. They all have roots in Slavic countries and freewheeling travel schedules that allow them to visit countries across the globe.

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

The top six channels in this week’s U.S. Top 50 fall into two neat groups. There are three individual creators among that group, and they’re joined by three family channels.

The kid-friendly side of YouTube is filled with rags-to-riches stories

Toys and Colors, the week-by-week leader in our U.S. Top 50, is one of several edutainment hubs situated near the top of the charts. It has been a stalwart in our rankings for years, but other sources for all-ages videos are more recent upstarts.

One remarkable story from YouTube’s kid community is LearnToon. Five months ago,...

ESPN Films announced today that Motorcycle Mary, as part of ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 Shorts catalog, will premiere on November 3 at 2 p.m. Et on ESPN and will also be available to stream on ESPN+.

The short documentary is directed by Haley Watson (in her directorial debut), produced by Rachel Greenwald, and executive produced by two-time Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot and seven-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton. The film made its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Festival.

Motorcycle Mary tells the untold story of legendary motorsports pioneer Mary McGee, a.k.a. “Motorcycle Mary,” whose racing career spanned thirty years and saw her shatter gender norms while mastering multiple racing disciplines. The documentary short will feature stunning never-before-seen archival footage and photographs from McGee’s life.

“Racing was never just about competition for me—it was about freedom, courage, and pushing myself beyond limits,” said Mary McGee. “I’m proud...

The seventh season of “Pov Shorts” will include Rashida Jones and Will McCormack’s “A Swim Lesson.” About swim coach Bill Marsh, the 20-minute doc, which recently debuted at the Telluride Film Festival, follows Marsh as he helps children manage their fears and instills confidence and safety in their lives

“Pov Shorts” will co-release “A Swim Lesson” with L.A. Times Studios and Documentary+ on Nov. 26. It makes the first year that the strand will co-release a doc with L.A. Times Studios and Documentary+.

“Seeing a child learn how to swim is like witnessing a great opera and in this case, the maestro of this emotional orchestra is the inspiring swim instructor Bill Marsh,” says Jones. “His dedication to these children is the parable we need, as these lessons uncover profound universal truths for all involved.”

According to “Pov Shorts” executive producer. Opal H. Bennett, co-releasing “A Swim Lesson” as...

YouTube Shorts is getting a makeover.

The short-form, vertical video format, which YouTube launched in 2021, is seeing its maximum video length go up to three minutes. In addition, YouTube is giving Shorts a redesign and building tools that allow creators to latch onto the latest short-form trends.

Previously, Shorts could be up to one minute long, and YouTube even applied that standard to old videos by letting creators convert their seconds-long VODs into Shorts. That runtime allowed YouTube to amass a library of millions of Shorts, collecting trillions of views in the process.

As YouTube found success with Shorts, the format’s primary rival began to change. TikTok’s maximum runtime went up to three minutes in 2021, hit ten minutes in 2022, and rose to 15 minutes a year later. Since many vertically-oriented videos are shared across Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram Reels (where the maximum length is three minutes), YouTube’s change...

Is anyone really excited about a shift towards shorter TV episodes? I can already hear the collective groans from the back of the room.

But hear me out on this unless you think the likes of TikTok and YouTube Shorts will never move beyond the personal short-form content to something more akin to a full-fledged series.

Think about this: According to Statista, 35% of people watch TV shows on TikTok. Now, we all know the TikTok format — one-minute shorts that get in and get out in a hurry.

(Courtesy of Apple TV+)

That’s right. A single episode can easily cover 45+ little snippets of drama. Fast twitch eyeballs and a deflated sense of patience drive us into strange new territory.

It’s not hard to see why. The smartphone is like a parasite, latching on and consuming attention spans and warping upper spinal columns into question marks. However, is this truly...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

Last week, there were no changes to report in our U.S. Top 50. This week, the top five positions in the ranking have been scrambled, but its the same five channels that find themselves in those spots.

And there’s still no change at #1, where a family-friendly hub continues to roll along.

The Top 5

Toys and Colors has now gone a month without falling out of the top spot in the U.S. Top 50. The channel’s expansion has been stimulated by its multiformat approach to YouTube and its affiliation with the growth-oriented media company pocket.watch. Thanks in part to that alliance,...

It’s now September. Can you believe it?

Today I have a list of what’s coming to Disney+ this month.

September 4

Kindergarten: The Musical (Season 1)

Lego Pixar: BrickToons – (All Episodes)

September 5

Are You Sure?! – Episode 6

September 7

Chibi Tiny Tales (Season 5)

September 8

Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation Sing Along Version

September 11

Primos (Season 1)

September 12

Are You Sure?! – (Episode 7)

September 13

Me & Mickey Shorts (Season 3)

September 17

Dancing with the Stars (Season 33) – Season Premiere

September 18

Hamster & Gretel (Season 2)

How Not to Draw (Shorts) (Season 3)

L-Pop (Season 2)

Agatha All Along – Two Episode- Premiere (6Pm Pst/ 9Pm Est)

September 19

Are You Sure?! – Episode 8

September 24

Dancing with the Stars (Second Episode)

September 25

National Geographic’s Fly

Agatha All Along – Episode 3 (6Pm Pst/ 9Pm Est)

Disney Jr.’s Ariel – New Episodes

September 27

Ayla & the Mirrors – New Episodes

Of course the big debuts will be the new Marvel show Agatha All Along as well...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

The ongoing unrest in Bangladesh led to a new #1 in our previous Top 50, and this week’s chart is marked by another change at the front.

A YouTube Shorts stalwart is now the most watched channel in the world, at least on a seven-day basis. The top ten finishers in the chart all received at least 400 million weekly views.

The Top 5

Kimpro is back on top of the Global Top 50. The Korean Shorts hub made a big impression last summer when it strung together successive #1 finishes in our worldwide ranking. One year later, Kimpro is still Korea’s top...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

Most of the channels in this week’s U.S. Top 50 operate primarily on YouTube Shorts, but the outliers tend to be bunched near the top. Half of the 14 charting channels that don’t bear the Shorts designation are ranked in the top 11 spots.

The most successful channels on YouTube find ways to blend long-form and short-form formats, and this week’s top finisher fits into that category.

The Top 5

Toys and Colors is the leader of this week’s U.S. Top 50, though not by a wide margin. The kid-friendly hub would have finished third if it had...

At the YouTube Brandcast event in India, Neal Mohan put the success of YouTube Shorts in perspective. During his pitch to potential ad buyers, the YouTube CEO revealed that the platform’s answer to TikTok has accrued more than one trillion views in India alone.

Mohan boasted about YouTube’s unparalleled presence on the Indian subcontinent. “YouTube is number one in reach and watchtime in India. We just passed a huge milestone,” Mohan said. “Shorts, which we first launched in India, now has trillions of views here.”

To understand the magnitude of that achievement, some context is necessary. YouTube Shorts gets billions of views in the U.S. as well, but its Indian traffic has been supercharged by the South Asian country’s national TikTok ban. The ByteDance-owned app has been unavailable in India since a 2020 crackdown targeted nearly 60 apps from China-based companies.

In India’s post-ban social media landscape,...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

A new month has brought a new leader to the Global Top 50, and the current #1 happens to be the most-watched YouTube channel of all time.

An Indian family channel concluded its multi-month run at the top of the charts, but it could return to that stature in the coming weeks. In the meantime, its compatriot is taking a turn in the driver’s seat.

The Top 5

T-Series has eclipsed last week’s leader to claim pole position in the Global Top 50. The #1 spot is familiar territory for India’s largest record label, which has found itself in that spot...

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (Ssff & Asia), one of the biggest international short film festivals in Asia, begins accepting submissions for the 2025 edition on Thursday, August 1, 2024.

https://app.lifelogbox.com/festival/shortshorts

In addition to the Live Action, Non-Fiction and Animation competitions, in which the best films are eligible for the following year's Academy Awards® in the Short Films category, the Ssff & Asia will also be looking for films from Japan and abroad in a wide range of categories, including the Tokyo-themed Cinematic Tokyo category and the Branded Shorts, which focuses on corporate branded films.

The Ssff & Asia also offers a variety of other awards, including the Shibuya Diversity Award for a film with a diversity theme, the Save the Earth! Minister of the Environment Award for a film about environmental issues, and the J-wave Sound Of Cinema Award for the unique and effective role of sound in a film.

Spain’s Solita Films, the outfit run by director-producer brothers José Esteban Alenda and César Esteban Alenda, has boarded Alberto Gross Molo’s feature debut “Catorce de Marzo” (“March 14th”).

The divorce drama is set up at Barcelona’s Contraria Media, one of the 36 emerging producers selected for the upcoming Locarno Film Festival edition’s networking initiative Match Me! Which takes place Aug. 9-11 at the Swiss Film Festival.

Producers on the project also take in Catorce de Marzo Aie, a tax vehicle, and Ayhe Productions.

The project is produced by Contraria Media’s co-founders Laura Egidos Plaja and Albert Aynés Clapés, Ayhe’s David Aymerich and the Esteban Alenda Brothers. Egidos and Cecilia Rivas executive produce.

In late development and at a financing stage, and scheduled to roll by Summer 2025, “March 14th” producers will be looking at Match Me! for a European co-producer and a sales agent.

Co-written by...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

In this week’s U.S. Top 50, there is a break of more than 100 million views between the sixth and seventh channels in the ranking.

That top group includes all of the channels that have led the U.S. Top 50 during the 2024 calendar year. It’s an elite group, so let’s go ahead and break down those top performers.

Chart Toppers

The #1 finisher in this week’s U.S. Top 50 is someone who has been a constant presence in these charts ever since the beginning of the YouTube Shorts era. Alan Chikin Chow has made quick-hitting vertical videos his bread and butter, and that strategy has paid off handsomely.

"Saturday Night Live" is a comedy institution that has been on the air for nearly a half-century. Soon, the series will be celebrating its milestone 50th season, which will include a star-studded anniversary celebration coming to NBC in February 2025. Even if you're one of those people who (wrongly) tells people that "SNL" isn't funny anymore, you can't deny that the late night sketch comedy series has cultivated some of the most brilliant comedic minds in modern Hollywood history -- whether it's the rough edges of live TV comedy innovation that came with the likes of Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Bill Murray, and Gilda Radner in the 1970s or the off-kilter shenanigans of Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, and Adam Sandler in the '90s. (Even the troublesome 1980s years under the supervision of producer Dick Ebersol gave us Eddie Murphy and Martin Short.) 

The late '90s into the...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

YouTube Shorts channels occupy four of the top five spots in the Global Top 50. And once again, an Indian family channel is leading the way.

Beyond the #1 spot, there are five more short-form family hubs among the top 20 most-watched YouTube channels of the week.

Chart Toppers

Aside from a brief MrBeast-shaped blip at the start of June, Anaya Kandhal has dominated our weekly charts over the past three months. The most-watched YouTube channel of April and May achieved a second-straight #1 finish after collecting 832.5 million weekly views. At that pace, young Anaya and her family will reach 30 billion lifetime views next week.

Academy Awards® qualifying Asia's one of the largest international film festivals, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2024 is going to showcase branded movies produced by corporations and organizations as Braneds Shorts 2024 at Akasaka Intercity Conference.

28 nominated branded movies are judged by the 5 jurors who are announced today.

This year's International category includes “Marty & Francesca Make a Website”, directed by and starring Martin Scorsese (Squarespace), and “The Chase for Carrera”, starring Ryan Gosling (Tag Heuer).

Screenings will take place on 10 (Mon), 11 (Tue) and 12 at Akasaka Intercity as well as Ssff & Asia 2024 Online Grand Theater from June 1. Each award will be announced at the Branded Shorts Ceremony on Wed, June 12th.

URL： https://www.shortshorts.org/2024/branded-ceremony/

Branded Shorts 2024 Jurors

From left:

Chief Jury：Takasaki Takuma（Creative Director）

Masaya Asai（Droga5 Tokyo, Part of Accenture Song Chief Creative Officer）

Mayuko Amanashi（Studio neco Co., Ltd. Representative Director/Movie Producer）

Kentaro Kimura（Hakuhodo, International...

As college students across America rally in support of the Palestinian people, digital channels are serving as prominent mouthpieces for the protestors. Rather than turning to traditional media outlets, many observers are getting updates from platforms like Twitch and YouTube Shorts, where creators are employing novel tactics to spread the news.

The campus protests, which have criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza and the United States government’s role in the conflict, have led to clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement officers. Much of the turmoil has been broadcast live on Twitch, where streamers like CapriSunnPapi and Bret Hamilton have delivered inside looks and interviews with young organizers.

A Washington Post article on those streamers traces the phenomenon of Twitch organizing to Hasan Piker, a.k.a. HasanAbi, who runs one of the most-followed and longest-running news accounts on Twitch. Piker told the Post that young viewers trust streamers because...

[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by GospelStats. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

Indian channels are dominating the Global Top 50.

The most populous nation in the world contributed 15 channels in this week’s Global Top 50; no other country was able to equal that number. The list of Indian chart-toppers includes the #1 channel in the ranking and a few unusual hubs.

Chart Toppers

Anaya Kandhal is still #1 in the Global Top 50. The family-oriented channel has used its success on YouTube Shorts to outpace the competition for four straight weeks. Over our latest seven-day measurement period, the Kandhal family’s primary channel received 732.1 million weekly views. Though that represented a slight decrease over the previous week,...